The Beginning
by Spazlady
Summary: This is the beginning of Rip Torns story


A small whimper came from a mass of decomposing trash and debris. A black nose poked out of the mess with snuffling sounds and made another whimper as it crawled out from under the mess. One blue eye and one brown eye looked around the dark alleyway, as it shook the dirt off almost sending its small self to the ground.

Placing its large paws down firmly to steady itself, and tried to swallow another whimper as the realization began to set in. ~_Momma? ~ _A near silent whimper escaped as it slowly walked over to the still form ~_Papa?~_ it asked, nosing the form and smelling blood and death. Dropping its head and laying its muzzle almost flush with a black patch of fur on an otherwise pristine white coat, sadness in its heart.

~_Momma_~ another whispered call, when nothing but silence met the call it lifted its head from its chest and slowly moved away from the form and began to make its way out of the alleyway, keeping close to the ground. ~_So big…strange noises~ _it whispered as it stepped out of the alleyway and stared around at the large buildings.

Buildings climbed to the sky as small two legged things ran around screaming within a metal cage. A few of the two legger's saw it and ran over as far as the cage would allow and reached their hands through the cage at it.

"Here puppy!" they called.

The white puppy with large paws slowly walked towards the out stretched hands. ~_mmm smell good~_ Just as its nose was about to sniff at the offered hands, a large booming voice shouted.

"Kids get away from that thing!" A tall man exclaimed as he jogged up to the kids and pulled them away from the white puppy that whimpered an bared its fangs in fear at the man. "Shoow, go on, get out of here!" the man said and hit the fence.

The puppy didn't think, just turned around and fled from the tall two legger and the metal cage. ~_momma_~, it whimpered. Running on blind instinct to flea not looking where it was going, it just ran, wanting to get away from the thing that scared it and wishing for its momma.

Days passed as it ran from one place to another, searching for its momma and trying to find anything that would fill its very empty stomach. Its once pristine white coat was now matted an covered with all kinds of nasty things as it dug through trash to find something to eat, only to come up empty time and time again. With a heavy feeling in its body it returned to the hiding place that was mostly secure.

Hiding under a dumpster behind the Chinese place, the once white puppy cried to its self. Its stomach tight in hunger and pushed its self farther under the dumpster as it heard something come closer to its hiding place. Strange claw like feet stopped at the dumper and began shuffling up and down, like it was dancing for the dumpster.

~_momma?_~ the puppy asked quietly, body trembling in fear.

The feet stopped their movement, and then bright green eyes peered into the gloom. "Not 'ur momma, boy." A raspy voice said just as two clawed hands shot under the dumpster and grabbed the puppy.

The puppy put up a good struggle, though it was still just a small puppy and was pulled out from under the dumpster. Despite his fear, he did not smell any menace or aggression coming from the thing that held it tight in its clawed grip.

"Huh, you're no puppy…well not full anyway." The thing said to the puppy.

~_momma?~_ the puppy asked again.

The scaly demon grinned at the puppy but shook its head, "sorry boy, not 'ur momma. Though 'm not sure how 'ur momma could'a left you by 'urself."

The puppy whimpered.

The demon looked closer at the puppy and sighed. Pulling the puppy to its chest and wrapped its scaled arms around the puppy and crooned to him. "Here now, 'ur gonna need to stop that. Half Hellhounds don't cry, and hell boy, your momma had you on the Hellmouth that in and of its self means you gotta be strong, or some other nasty will eat you." It said quietly as it began walking out of the alley with its new friend. "Let's get you fed an warm."

"Here now, stop 'ur jumpin'. Can't fix 'ur ear if you won't sit still!" Braxes the Scaled demon said to a large almost grown white mass of jittery dog. The demon gave up and slowly sat down to tired to try and reign in the pup.

The white dog stopped its jumping, blood trickled down its white muzzle from the torn ear as it looked over at its scaled friend, head cocked ~_Braxes?~ _the dog asked as it came closer to the demon and saw what his friend had been hiding from him.

Braxes slowly sat back; a rattling cough erupted from deep within the demon. "'m old, pup. Old when I found you, boy. Though I was hoping to find someone to take you before I went, but it don't seem like that's gonna happen."

The Hellhound walked up to Braxes nosing its hand. ~_Where go? Back soon?~_

"Ah, boy." Braxes sighed, "afraid where 'ma goin', I won't be comin' back."

The hound jerked its muzzle away from the demon and gave a mournful whine, looking at its friend with soul deep eyes, pleading with it, ~_like momma? ~_

The demon patted its thigh and nodded its head at the hound. "Yea, boy. Just like 'ur momma." The hound moved into the demons space, paws in its lap and shoved his blocky head against the side of Braxes neck, inhaling the scent of warm cinnamon and cloves. Warm scaled arms wrapped around the quivering body of its furry companion.

"We had eight months, boy. Some of the most trying and hysterical times of my life, but they were good." Setting back and keeping the pup in its grasp, it got more comfortable as the life slowly seeped out of its old tired body. "I had hoped to find you a home, boy. I knew my time here is short, but you. You're a Hellmouth Hellhound, special you are." A heavy scaled hand gently rubbed the blocky head, "shouldn't be alone," a tremble started within the demon. "Remember…" was rasped out as the trembling stop.

The Hellhound looked into the slowly glazing green eyes of the only thing it knew to a parent, lifted its blocky head, and howled a sad heartbroken howl. Letting everything from Demon to human hear the pain of his howl, trying to convey everything into his howls of pain.

The sun had set and risen four times, and each time the sun had set the hound would begin his howl of mourning, howling through the long night. The humans of the Hellmouth that heard the howl would shiver, for to them the howl was not of pain and sadness but of something with a hunger just waiting to be set free. It was Demons and those humans that knew of the things on the Hellmouth that heard the howl for what it was.

A howl filled with grief and the realization that the world will never be the same again.

On the night of the fifth day the Hellhound was about to begin its mourning howl, when the door to the den was broken down and in charged three floppy eared demons. The hound did not move from his place at the feet of his friend as the three demons stopped a few feet away from the hound.

"Look boy, we understand that you loved him, but you need to stop your howling. Families live here too and we can't have you howling all night long, so…please leave." The biggest of the three said.

The Hellhound looked from the demons to the desiccated corpse of his friend, and with a hurt snarl, he tore himself away from the corpse and fled as fast as his body would allow. Knowing as he left he would never return to this place. Ever.

This is only just the beginning.


End file.
